Alexios III of Trebizond: Map

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Alexios III Megas Komnenos or Alexius III ( , 5
October 1338 – 20 March 1390), Emperor of
Trebizond from December 1349
until his death. He was the son of Emperor Basil of Trebizond and his second (and
bigamous) wife, Irene of
Trebizond. Alexios III was originally named John (Ιωάννης,
Iōannēs), and took the name Alexios either in memory of
his older brother who had died prematurely or of his paternal
grandfather, Emperor Alexios II
of Trebizond.

Early life and reign

When Basil
died on April 6, 1340 and his first wife Irene Palaiologina succeeded
him, she sent all the children of her dead husband to Constantinople together with their mother. Alexios was
raised at the Byzantine court. When he was eleven years old, he was
sent to Trebizond by Emperor John
VI Kantakouzenos to replace his deposed great-uncle Michael, who had been an instrument of
the regency Kantakouzenos had displaced. Alexios arrived in
Trebizond on December 22, 1349 and was accepted as emperor by the
nobility headed by Grand Duke Niketas
without opposition. It was at this point that he adopted the name
Alexios, and he was crowned on January 21, 1350 in the company of
his mother Irene and of John Lazaropoulos, who later became
Metropolitan of Trebizond. Alexios' position was safeguarded by the
consignment of the deposed Emperor Michael to a monastery.

In 1351 the connection to John VI Kantakouzenos was strengthened by
further diplomatic initiatives. The deposed Emperor Michael was
exiled to Constantinople, and on September 20, 1351, Alexios III
married Theodora Kantakouzene,
a relative of the Byzantine Emperor, in the newly rebuilt Church of
St. Eugenios. For the time being, Alexios was accepted as emperor
because of his youth, which proved acceptable to the nobles of the
realm who sought to use the young ruler's minority for their own
purposes. While the aristocrats squabbled with each other, Alexios
despaired of security in his capital and retired to the coastal
castle of Tripolis.

The young emperor was supported by his mother and some loyal
generals and courtiers, including Michael Panaretos, whose laconic chronicle
is the principal source on the political history of the Empire of Trebizond. Insubordinate
nobles had to be overwhelmed one by one by the emperor's forces.
Alexios and his court strengthened their position by fostering
peaceful relations with the Turkmen,
cemented by marriage alliances such as that between the emperor's
sister Maria and Fahreddin Kutlubeg of Aq Qoyunlu.

As Alexios' position improved, it became less necessary to rely on
the kingmaker Niketas. The Grand Duke was forced to flee to
Kerasous in June 1354 and attempted an attack on Trebizond in March
1355. The rebels realized that they would be unable to win and
abandoned their expedition. Alexios sailed to Kerasous with a small
fleet in the company of his mother and the metropolitan, and
conquered the town in the absence of Niketas. The emperor's cavalry
besieged the last fortress loyal to the Grand Duke, Kenchrina, and
obtained its surrender. Niketas and his aristocratic supporters
were taken captive and brought to Trebizond, where he died in 1360.
The fall of Kenchrina in 1355 marked the end of the fifteen years
of civil unrest.

External affairs

Alexios III now turned his attention to strengthening the frontier
against the Turkmen. In this he was less successful, and suffered a
major defeat in battle in 1355. Alexios and Panaretos were barely
able to escape with their lives. An invasion by Hajji 'Umar, the
emir of Chalybia, was neutralized by diplomacy, and he was married
to Alexios' sister Theodora in 1358. This policy of seeking
diplomatic alliances with the neighboring Muslim princes was
continued later in Alexios' reign, in the marriages of four of the
emperor's daughters.

A new attempt by the nobility on Alexios III failed in 1363. The
Metropolitan Niphon was deposed for his complicity in the plot and
replaced with the emperor's supporter John Lazaropoulos (under the
monastic name Joseph). In spite of his victories over the nobles,
Alexios showed restraint and willingness to compromise by granting
charters to noble families confirming them in possession of their
lands.

Alexios
was also unable to displace the Genoese and Venetians from their dominant position in Trebizond's
commerce. The position of Venice had declined from the
concession of Leontokastron to the Genoese in 1349, and in 1360
Alexios attempted to restore commercial relations with Venice to
offset the power of the Genoese. In 1364 he confirmed to the
Venetians their old privileges and assigned them a depot. But the
Venetians were not content with their gains and jealously quarreled
with the Genoese. Another concession to Venice followed in 1367,
and gradually lowered some of the dues levied on Venetian
commerce.

Nevertheless, Alexios' attempt to exploit the commerce of the
Italian republics resulted in considerable resentment. In 1376–1377
the Venetians conspired with the despotesDobrotitsa of Dobruja (an enemy of the Genoese) to impose his
son-in-law Michael Palaiologos, a son of Emperor John V Palaiologos on the throne of
Trebizond. The expedition failed, as Michael was murdered by his
Bulgarian brother-in-law. Relations with Venice were patched up,
but although Alexios further reduced the dues he collected from the
Venetians in 1381, its volume continued to decline.

During his
long reign, Alexios III had repaired the physical damage to the
capital, gave rich endowments to several monasteries, especially
Soumela
Monastery, and founded
the Dionysiou
monastery at Mount Athos.
The typikon of the Dionysiou is an object of
artistic merit and beauty. When Alexios III died on March 20 1390,
he was succeeded by his son Manuel III.